Council to weigh in on Dumbarton Rail loan forgiveness proposal

By Jason Green

Daily News Staff Writer

Posted:
04/18/2014 12:38:05 AM PDT

Updated:
04/18/2014 12:50:42 AM PDT

On Monday, the Palo Alto City Council is expected to join its counterpart in Menlo Park in objecting to a proposal that would strip funds from a commuter rail project linking the mid-Peninsula and East Bay.

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission is looking to wipe out a $91 million loan that was made to a BART extension project using funds earmarked for the Dumbarton Rail project.

In an April 9 letter to MTC Chairman Federal Glover, Palo Alto City Manager James Keene said he expects the council to demand that the loan be repaid at least in part, and that the funds be used to improve transit connections between the mid-Peninsula and East Bay.

"Partial forgiveness of the loan will provide the MTC flexibility going forward and the opportunity to re-evaluate our important commuter rail needs in the future," Keene wrote in the one-page letter.

A Planning and Community Environment Department report noted that the Menlo Park City Council has also objected to the proposal. The loan is otherwise set to be repaid in Alameda County Regional Transportation Improvement Program funds between 2019 and 2027.

The proposal also calls for reallocating $34.7 million in Dumbarton Rail funds for projects to expand Dumbarton Express bus service and electrify Caltrain. According to Keene's letter, Palo Alto is in favor of both.

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"East/west transit is a challenge in our region and a reliable and improved Dumbarton Express service helps address that challenge," Keene wrote.

"The city of Palo Alto also supports the $20 million allocation to Caltrain electrification. With over 52,000 weekday riders, modernized Caltrain is critical to the Peninsula's overall transit strategy."

The money that was loaned, along with the funds that are proposed for reallocation, is from the Regional Measure 2 program. Passed by voters in 2004, the measure raised the toll on seven state-owned Bay Area bridges by $1 for the purpose of funding projects to ease congestion.

One of those projects was Dumbarton Rail. Expected to cost at least $600 million, it would link the Peninsula and the East Bay cities of Newark, Fremont and Union City via a rebuilt rail bridge adjacent to the Dumbarton Bridge.

However, the project has been in limbo since 2012, when voters in Alameda County narrowly rejected a transportation sales tax measure that would have provided up to $120 million.

The proposal to forgive the loan to the BART extension and reassign funds is the result of an effort the MTC launched last year to address stalled projects. Extending BART 5.4 miles from the existing Fremont station to the city's Warm Springs district is expected to cost $890 million.

IF YOU GOWHAT: The Palo Alto City Council is scheduled to weigh in on a proposal to forgive a $91 million loan to a BART extension project made with funds for the Dumbarton Rail project.WHEN: Monday; the council is scheduled to take up the item by 10:40 p.m.WHERE: Council Chambers, City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave.